Dispensing carton



April 28, 1953 c, H. w1| |s ET AL 2,635,599

DISPENSING CARTON med sept. 1o, 1951 2 SHEETS- SHEET 1 April 28, 1953 c.. H. WILLIS ET AL 2,636,599

.. DISPENSING CARTON Filed Sept. l0, 1951 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 Patented pr. 2 8, ,1953

DISPENSING CARTON Cecil H. Willis and Ronald Williams, Hamilton,

Ontario, Canada, assignors to Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Co., Parchment, Mich.

Application September 10, 1951, Serial No. 245,878

(Cl. 20G-57) 9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in dispensing cartons.

The main objects of this invention are:

First, to provide a dispensing carton with adjustable supports for the dispensed contents such as sheets, the supports being initially in the plane of the bottom and adjustable to an erected position within the carton when the contents of the carton are partially withdrawn or exhausted.

Second, to provide a dispensing carton having these advantages in which the supp-Orts may be quickly adjusted to erected position and are provided with integral bottom engaging struts.

Third, to provide a dispensing carton having adjustable supports formed integrally with the bottom and requiring no additional stock.

Fourth, to provide a dispensing carton including a supplemental or inner bottom panel which when in its initial position serves to reinforce the bottom.

Objects relating to details and economies of the invention will appear from the description to follow. The invention is pointed out in the claims.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a bottom perspective view illustrating a carton embodying the invention with the inner bottom in raised position and the supports adjusted to support the bottom in that position.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section on a line corresponding to line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an inverted view of the iilled carton partially broken away to illustrate structural details.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section showing further details.

Fig. 5 is a plan view ofthe filled carton.

Fig. 6 is a bottom perspective view of a modified or alternative form of our invention, parts being broken away to show structural details and the supports being shown in erected position.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section on a line corresponding to line 7,-1 of Fig. 6 of the carton with the material supports in erected position. The manipulation of the supports to erected position is indicated by dotted lines and the carton is shown as resting on a supporting surface.

Fig. 8 is an inverted fragmentary view showing the supports and their struts in initial position. A

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view corresponding to that of Fig. 8 illustrating a support in partially erected position. r

Fig. l0 is an enlarged fragmentary view on a` line corresponding to line ill- Hl of Fig. 6 showing the relationship of the parts with the sup-V ports in erected position.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary view on a line corresponding to line l ll of Fig. '7.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 comprises a bottom i, top Z, side walls 3-3 and end walls -G. The end walls are in commercial production formed of overlapping parts desirably adhesively secured together but as these details form no part of the present disposed in the carton in interfolded relation so` that when one sheet is withdrawn the end of the adjacent sheet is pulled out as indicated at 8. That type of interfold, however, is old in the art and therefore we do not illustrate it in detail herein. The slot 5 is initially bridged by the flaps 9 connected along the fracturing Vline lil.Y

The purpose of this is to prevent the sheets from working through the slot during the handling of the filled vcarton prior to the dispensing use thereof. When the contents of the carton are to be withdrawn, the flaps 9 are disconnected along the fracturing line and folded rearwardly as indicated in Fig. 2.

In the embodiments of the invention illustrated, an inner or false bottom panel il is provided which is arranged below the sheet body and is of substantially stiff material as compared to the individual sheets. Whilel this is a desirable feature for use in connection with certain types of dispensed sheets such, for example, as tissue,

it is not an essential and it is not used for mosti materials dispensed. The bottom is provided with adjustable supports l2 for the dispensed materials, there preferably being a pair of these supports which are spaced longitudinally of the bottom and hingedly connected thereto at ifi.

hingedly connected to their end edges at it. The hinge connections Ul permit the supports to be swung to erected position within the carton and their struts disposed angularly relative theretoto rest upon the bottom to support the supports in erected position -as shown in Fig. 2. The supports with their struts are integral with the bot- I tom and are defined by thehinge connections it for thesupports to the' bottom and thefractlr- The supports are provided with struts l5:

ing lines I1 which initially hold the supports in the plane of the bottom but permit their being readily freed from the bottom and swung inwardly to erected position. To facilitate this the bottom is provided with nger openings i8 which cross o1- merge with the fracturing lines.

As best shown in Fig. 4, the iracturing lines connecting the bottom edge portions of the struts to the bottom are in this embodiment inclined so that the supports are supported in rearwardly inclined positions and the load of sheets acts to urge the struts to supported position and thus prevent collapsing of the supports. When the inner bottom panel i! is used, it initially rest upon the bottom of the carton and reinforces the partially fractured portions of the bottom and covers the holes i8. This prevents the accidental fracturing along the fracturing lines Il in the handling of the iilled carton. When the carton is partially emptied the supports may be broken loose from the bottom along the fracturing lines and swung inwardly to erected position and the struts adjusted to erected position. The supports and the struts may be swung to erected position by the same movement by grasping the support member with the thumb and forenger on the strut portions and forcing them inwardly to erected position.

The embodiment of our invention shown in Figs. 6 to 11, inclusive, is in the main the same as that in Figs. l to 5 which we have described; however, in this embodiment the struts i5 are of a length exceeding the width o the supports i2. The bottom is provided with slits i9 preferably aligned with the hinge connections for the struts to the supports so that when the struts ai swung to an angular position relative te the supportstheir edges Eil may be swung into the slits I9 which provide clutching engagement with the struts supporting them in erected position as is shown in the drawings of Figs. l to il, inclusive. The serrations 2i on the edges 2t of the struts` also act to retain the struts in their adjusted position relative to the botttom. When the struts are engaged as shown in Figs. 6 and '7 and the carton placed upon a surface as indicated at 22,- the portion 23 between the open* ings formed in the bottom to provide material for the supports and their struts is deflected upwaidly as shown in Fig. 7 owing to the bottom edges of the struts resting upon the support and this adds to the clutching engagement of the bottom and struts.

As stated, while the false bottom i l is desirable for' certain types of packaged material, very satisfactory results are had when the false bottom or panel is omitted.

Cartons embodying the invention may be of considerable depth. By adjusting the inner bottoin to its elevated position when the contents have been partially removed, substantially half as in the embodiment illustrated, the remaining contents may be effectively withdrawn as the ends of the sheet S are not likely to be retracted into the carton.

We have illustrated and described our iinprovements in highly practical embodiments thereof. We have not attempted to illustrate or describe other embodiments or adaptations which we contemplate as it is believed that this disclosure will enable those skilled in the art to embody or adapt our invention as may be desired.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A dispensing carton comprising a bottom,

4 top, side and end walls, the top having a dispensing opening therein, a vertically adjustable inner bottom panel, and spaced panel supports integral with and hingeolly joined to the bottom, said supports having integral struts hingedly connected thereto, the supports and their struts being dened by their said hinge connections to the bottom and by fracturing lines, the bottom having finger openings merging with the fracturing lines, the struts when erected and supportedly engaged with the bottom being disposed angularly relative to the supports, said panel in its initial position resting upon the bottom and constituting a reinforcing element for the said fracturable portions of the bottom and a closure for the said finger openings therein.

2. A dispensing carton comprising a bottom, top, side and end walls, the top having a dispensing opening therein, a vertically adjustable inner bottom panel, and spaced panel supports integral with and hingedly joined to the bottom, said supports having integral struts adjustably connected thereto, the supports and their struts being defined by their said hinge connections to the bottom and by fracturinor lines, the struts when erected and supportedly engaged with the bottom disposed angularly relative to' the supports, said panel in its initial position resting upon the bottoni and constituting a reinforcing element for the said fracturable portions of the bottoni. y

A dispensing carton comprising a bottom, a vertically adjustable inner bottom panel, and spaced supports integral with and hingedly joined to the bottom, said supports having integral struts adjustabiy connected to their end edges and ad# justable to an angular bottom engaging relation to the supports, the supports and their struts being defined by their hinge connections to the bottom by fracturing lines, said panel in its initial position resting upon the bottom and constituting a reinforcing element for the said fractura-ble portions of the bottom.

4. A dispensing carton comprising a bottom, top, side and end Walls, the top having a dispensing opening therein, and spaced supports for the dispensed product integral with and hinged; ly joined to the bottom, said supports having integral struts hingedly connected to their end edges, the supports and their struts being defined by their said hinge connections to the bottom and by fracturing lines, the struts being of a length exceeding the width of the supports, the bottoni having slits therein aligned with the hinge connections for the struts to the supports adapted to receive and retainingiy engage the struts when they are swung to an angular relation to the supports for supporting them in erected position, the portion kof the bottom between the openings resulting from the fracturing of the supports and strut therefrom being upwardly deflectable thereby further providing frictional clamping engagement between the struts and bottom.

5. A dispensing carton comprising a bottoni, top, side and end walls, the top having a dispensing opening therein, and spaced supports for the dispensed product integral with and hingedly joined to the bottom, said supports having integral struts hingedly connected to their end edges, the supports and their struts being defined by their said hinge connections to the bottom and by fracturing lines,`the struts being of a length exceeding the width of the supports, the bottoni having slits therein aligned with the hinge connections for the struts to the supports adapted to receive and retainingly engage the struts when they are swung to an angular relation to the supports for supporting them in. erected position.

6. A dispensing carton comprising a bottom, top, side and end walls, the top having a dispensing opening therein, and spaced supports for the dispensed product integral with and hingedly joined to the bottom, said supports having integral struts hingedly connected to their end edges, the supports and their struts being defined by their said hinge connections to the bottom and by fracturing lines, the struts loe-ing of a length exceeding the width of the supports, the bottom having slits therein aligned with the hinge connections for the struts to the supports adapted to receive and retainingly engage the struts when they are swung to an angular relation to the supports for supporting them 1n erected position, the engaging edges of the struts being serrated further facilitating the retaining engagement thereof with the bottom.

7. A dispensing carton comprising a bottom, top, side and end walls, the top having a dispensing opening therein, and spaced supports for the dispensed product within the carton integral with and hingedly joined to the bottom, said supports having integral struts hingedly connected there# to, the struts being of a length exceeding the top, side and end walls, the top having a dispens ing opening therein, and spaced supports for the dispensed product within the carton integral with and hingediy joined to the bottom, said supports having integral struts hingedly connected thereto, the struts being of a length exceeding the width of the supports, the bottom having slits therein positioned to receive and retainingly engage the struts when they are swung to an angular relation to the supports.

9. A dispensing carton comprising a bottom, top, side and end walls, the top having a dispensing opening therein, and a support for the dispensed product integral with and hingedly joined to the bottom, the support having an integral strut hingedly connected thereto and of a length exceeding the width of the support, the bottom having a slit therein positioned to receive and retainingly engage the strut when it is swung to an angular relation to the support for supporting the support in erected position.

CECIL H. WILLIS. RONALD WILLIAMS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS- Number Name Date 1,797,380 Thompson Mar. 24, 1931 2,018,623 Derman Oct. 22, 1935 2,069,281 Sebreny Feb. 2, '1937 2,273,351 Gunder Feb. 17, 1942 2,287,420 Edmonston June 23, 1942 2,484,167 Huye Oct. 11, 1949 2,501,357 Speckman et a1 Mar. 21, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 584,244 Great Britain Jan. 9, 1947 

